Senator Rand Paul praised President Trump for showing restraint with regards to Iran after the country shot down a US drone, but warned that military confrontation is still likely.

In an interview with Fox News, Paul warned that the sanctions imposed on Iran’s leadership will likely be seen as an act of war.

“I’m really proud of President Trump for showing restraint. It really takes a statesman to show restraint amidst a chorus of voices for war.” the Senator stated.

“Whether the sanctions will work is, I think, another story.” Paul added.

“Currently, from the Iranian perspective, they see the sanctions as an act of war – cutting off their ability to sell any oil to Asia.” he continued, noting that “The previous sanctions allowed them to sell some oil.”

“This actually is becoming so stringent that they have a couple of possibilities.” Paul explained.

“One, that they say ‘oh we’re sorry and we’re going to negotiate’. Or, they say ‘we’re really, really mad. And we’re going to fight.” the Senator, who is a member of the Foreign Relations committee, said.

“Unfortunately, it looks like we’ve got them backed up against a wall. And I think we’re more likely to have more military confrontations than we are to have diplomacy.” Paul warned.

“The futile sanctions against the Iranian leader and the country’s chief diplomat mean the permanent closure of the diplomatic path with the government of the United States. The Trump government is in the process of destroying all the established international mechanisms for maintaining global peace and security.” the Foreign Ministry’s spokesman, Abbas Mousavi, was quoted as saying.

Trump hit back warning that Iran’s “ignorant, insulting” statements and actions could lead to “obliteration”:

Iran leadership doesn’t understand the words “nice” or “compassion,” they never have. Sadly, the thing they do understand is Strength and Power, and the USA is by far the most powerful Military Force in the world, with 1.5 Trillion Dollars invested over the last two years alone..

….The wonderful Iranian people are suffering, and for no reason at all. Their leadership spends all of its money on Terror, and little on anything else. The U.S. has not forgotten Iran’s use of IED’s & EFP’s (bombs), which killed 2000 Americans, and wounded many more…

….Iran’s very ignorant and insulting statement, put out today, only shows that they do not understand reality. Any attack by Iran on anything American will be met with great and overwhelming force. In some areas, overwhelming will mean obliteration. No more John Kerry & Obama!